Places and Structures
Ride the Cartosaurus to See Tracks
There are a few ways to see Morrison, Colorado's famed "Dinosaur Ridge." If you just want to have a look at the tracks you can walk or bike up the roadside trail, but if you want a less strenuous guided tour you can hop onto the new electric-powered "Cartosaurus."According to Denver's CBS4 News the...
August 24, 2009 |
By Brian Switek
Cast Your Vote for the #1 Dinosaur Museum
Earlier this summer I asked readers to decide which city deserved the title of "Dinosaur Capital of the World." Glen Rose, Texas took an early lead, but Drumheller, in Alberta, Canada, is now sitting comfortably in the top spot. A more contentious question, though, is "What is top museum to visit i...
August 20, 2009 |
By Brian Switek
A New Chapter in the Hope Diamond’s History
The National Museum of Natural History’s most famous gem gets a modern update
August 18, 2009 |
By Abby Callard
"Chinasaurs" Invade Maryland
As I walked through the traveling exhibit "Chinasaurs: Dinosaur Dynasty" in the Maryland Science Center, I felt like I was inside a giant typewriter. Scattered through the exhibit were animatronic versions of Protoceratops, Oviraptor and Velociraptor, and the hall was filled with the clipping and t...
August 17, 2009 |
By Brian Switek
Sheep, Chicks and Geese Scurry at the County Fair
As photographer Dan Nelken has catalogued, the county fair is the place for family farms to showcase their prized livestock
August 14, 2009 |
By Brian Wolly
On the Hunt for Jefferson's Lost Books
A Library of Congress curator is on a worldwide mission to find exact copies of the books that belonged to Thomas Jefferson
August 11, 2009 |
By Ashley Luthern
Decorating the White House with Smithsonian Art
Continuing a Washington tradition, the Obamas selected artwork from the Smithsonian collections to hang in their historic home
August 04, 2009 |
By Abby Callard
Day 1: A Geological Trip Back in Time
Smithsonian Secretary Clough flies to Wyoming to learn about a period of intense global warming that occurred 55 million years ago
July 23, 2009 |
By G. Wayne Clough, Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution
Walk Durham's Dinosaur Trail
In 1996, damage caused by Hurricane Fran forced North Carolina's Museum of Life and Science to close down their beloved Pre-History Trail. The path, opened in 1967, was meant to take visitors on a journey through 300 million years, but in the wake of the storm it seemed like a good time to pause. N...
July 16, 2009 |
By Brian Switek
Virtual Dinosaurs Come to Japan
One of the things I love about natural history museums is that you sometimes get to see real dinosaur bones. There is no substitute for seeing the fossilized remains of creatures that lived millions of years ago. If you want to see dinosaurs running around you will have to look to the movies, but a...
July 15, 2009 |
By Brian Switek
Mama Velociraptor Needs Your Help!
The Cincinnati Museum has a bit of a problem. Not long ago the exhibit "Dinosaurs Unearthed" opened there, but what museum officials didn't know was that one of the Velociraptor brought to the museum was brooding a clutch of eggs! The babies hatched and escaped into the city, and the museum is call...
July 14, 2009 |
By Brian Switek
Two "Sea Monsters" for the Price of One
In 1918 the paleontologists at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History were pretty busy. Rather than go out into the field to collect more specimens, they chipped away at specimens that had already been collected so that they could be put on display. When the famous fossil collector Char...
July 09, 2009 |
By Brian Switek
Save the Laramie Dinosaurs!
At 5 PM on June 30th the lights went out in the halls of the University of Wyoming Geological Museum for the last time. Earlier in the month, state budget cuts forced the university to cut funding to the institution, which houses the spectacular Allosaurus "Big Al" and an Apatosaurus skeleton. Plea...
July 01, 2009 |
By Brian Switek
From the Castle: 'Forever' Institutions
Libraries, universities and museums are especially important in uncertain times
July 2009 |
By G. Wayne Clough
Revisiting the First Ladies’ Homes
The oft-overlooked lives of America's first ladies are on display in house museums across the country
June 30, 2009 |
By Robin T. Reid
North Carolina's Origami Dinosaur Finds New Home
For the past seven years, a seven-foot-tall origami Tyrannosaurus has served as the mascot for the TEA ReX Teahouse in Charlotte, North Carolina. As The Charlotte Observer recently reported, however, the company is switching to a new online format, and the giant paper dinosaur would need a new home...
June 26, 2009 |
By Brian Switek
A Triceratops at the National Zoo
When I visited the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. earlier this year, I was a bit surprised to see a large Triceratops statue next to the giant anteater enclosure. There are a few dinosaurs at the zoo, like the Tyrannosaurus skull sculpture near the big cats exhibit, but the Triceratops seemed out...
June 24, 2009 |
By Brian Switek
Across Africa, Finding Common Ground in Their Art
António Ole and Aimé Mpane came together to converse through artwork in a new insallation at the National Museum of African Art
June 23, 2009 |
By Joseph Caputo
Apatosaurus on Ice!
The wonderful exhibit "Dinosaurs: Ancient Fossils, New Discoveries" will soon be coming to the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, and to promote it the museum has commissioned a special TV ad that can only be described as "Apatosaurus on Ice."Unfortunately, though, some people might think this ...
June 22, 2009 |
By Brian Switek
